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[D&D 3.P] Those Worthy of Eberron's Claw (No SV, we're starting at level 16)

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[X] (Species) ...ghaal'dar, or a hobgoblin — the ones gath'dar most perceive as leaders.
[X] (Magical Jack Build Group) ...a warrior-arcanist. You heard someone in the neighborhood of Overlook in Sharn use the term "gish" once, whatever that means. (These builds each involve several levels of a spellbook-based or similar class, a dip of a non-casting class, and many levels of a prestige class that brings the two together.)
 
[X] (Species) ...uul'dar, or a blue — a variety of golin'dar with unusual psionic potential.
[X] (Magical Jack Build Group) ...involving "Sarlonan magic". Only kalashtar seem to know much about psionics, and not even all of them know that the Sarlonan tradition is only the most developed... (All the psionic build ideas go here.)

I'm going to put at least a little of case towards a Psionic class such as Psychic Rogue, Dreamscarred Press' Cryptic, or the Lurk from Complete Psionic as fun and funky ways to mix the flavor a little more intensely!
Also I just really like Power Points.
 
Seems we have one runaway lead and one competitive vote! The current state of things says to me I should wrap this one up quickly before we're sitting on another tie.
 
MrRageQuit said:
Yeah, I'd prefer to see things speed up and we get to the actual questing.
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Yeah, the main reason I've been using three-day vote cycles is because of trying to wait out irreconcilable ties. Without the need for that this time, I'll gladly use a two-day cycle instead.

I do figure the next vote will be the last character creation vote, as I doubt people care much about the specifics of the rest of the party nor about the exact skills, feats, spells, and such the MC has. Concerning spells, the most I was even considering was polling for a couple of favorites of the MC to use as a guideline, but between fatigue, what the various gish builds imply, and the jack-of-all-trades mandate, I think I can figure things out well enough. (Heck, the entire reason I'm using broad spellbook-style casters in all these builds is because of what I've picked up from discussion; one doesn't always need a vote to figure out what people want.)
 
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0.4 Vote Results: A blue gish!
  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Pteryx on Oct 29, 2022 at 10:36 PM, finished with 11 posts and 8 votes.
    • [x] (Magical Jack Build Group) ...a warrior-arcanist. You heard someone in the neighborhood of Overlook in Sharn use the term "gish" once, whatever that means. (These builds each involve several levels of a spellbook-based or similar class, a dip of a non-casting class, and many levels of a prestige class that brings the two together.)
      [X] (Species) ...uul'dar, or a blue — a variety of golin'dar with unusual psionic potential.
      [x] (Species) ...golin'dar, or a goblin — long the most oppressed of the dar, your kind are finally earning respect outside of the Silent Clans.
      [X] (Magical Jack Build Group) ...involving "Sarlonan magic". Only kalashtar seem to know much about psionics, and not even all of them know that the Sarlonan tradition is only the most developed... (All the psionic build ideas go here.)
      [X] (Magical Jack Build Group) ...a potent magic-user with a mundane skillset to back it up. That's certainly one way to put it... (I fully admit this is the "miscellaneous" option.)
      [X] (Species) ...ghaal'dar, or a hobgoblin — the ones gath'dar most perceive as leaders.
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  • Voting
    • Sorry, no instant turnaround this time. I'm having more ideas for the rest of the party than I thought, extrapolating from preferences shown so far and the nature of what they've already accomplished, and even just knowing the MC is a gish of some kind is enough to help me pin down four out of five of them (the non-gish caster type I need to know the final details about the MC for). Between having more to process here than makes sense to actually exposit about right now and having some prior commitments to live up to later in the week, it may be another week until I get back to this. ...Is a week's pause enough to require calling hiatus around here?
     
    Just to keep everybody in the loop, I have a dozen statblocks to build out now that everything's had time to percolate. Expect things to take an additional week before an update, and for the update after that to also take a week.
     
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    0.5: Not These Guys Again (what kind of blue gish, and what's their first response to danger?)
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    • (Magical Jack Build Group) ...a warrior-arcanist. You heard someone in the neighborhood of Overlook in Sharn use the term "gish" once, whatever that means.
    (Species) ...uul'dar, or a blue — a variety of golin'dar with unusual psionic potential.

    -----

    The rest of the warband is comprised of species that are relatively common in the Five Nations, though none of the humans that overrun the region. Thus, another uniting factor for your party is being minorities in your homelands. None are as rare as uul'dar, but most can relate in other ways.

    You walk through several levels of blue marble halls you've already explored together in your usual formation: Flerentia the gnomish warder and Xaket the khoravar shaman in the front, Guntram the dwarven factotum and Oriana — your halfling rival in mystical matters — in the middle, and yourself and Sakikhad the kalashtar archer in the back. Shaarat, the stray mutt that Xaket calls their spirit animal, wanders around the party slowly as the group advances, obeying no marching order; her ability to move so effectively in a plane defined by thought is a testament to the intelligence that Xaket had always said was there. You are, of course, left to wonder whether the constructs you've found guarding the citadel so far are thus some kind of draconic answer to warforged that somehow couldn't talk, or if whatever dragons created them found another solution.

    On your way through one of the first hubs in the citadel's layout, however, several of you immediately notice something out of place. The ruins of one of the guardian constructs you defeated, which have stood in an identical position ever since you defeated it and gave them a post-mortem examination, have been disturbed. On the Material Plane that would be less remarkable; scavenging rodents and insects will investigate even bodies that aren't edible for at least a moment, just in case. But this is the Astral Plane — relatively devoid of life, and where movement typically implies thought, either directly or indirectly through the media of magic or psionics. It is far more likely than not that you aren't the only visitors from outside the citadel today.

    Xaket takes a moment to cast mass owl's wisdom on the warband sooner than you all planned as a precaution. At the very least, the Astral Plane's mystical and responsive nature means that a spell like that can either be cast with little more than a thought, gesture, and a single word even if one lacks the skill to do that normally, or cast in full in order to do so with a longer duration and range; Xaket of course opts for the full casting in this case. So far, this boon has primarily made combat in the plane easier for you. What's more, intuition and intellect are what really matter in this plane; your physical prowess means far less here, though your training and experience at least allow you to easily envision what you want to do. Your warband being so protected, you continue deeper in.

    When you reach the atrium that spans the center of the third and fourth floors, you discover the nature of the other outsiders, and realize that this time the Astral's properties may prove more double-edged. Four githyanki are exploring the room, searching for secret hollows you've already uncovered. Two of them are heavily armored and have sheathed swords, one is moderately armored and has a crossbow hanging from their back, and the last wears only robes. It isn't long until one of them spots you, however, and through what you can only assume is a telepathic warning prompts the group to hurriedly gather just above the room's lapis lazuli central stage. The last time you met githyanki, they proved both hostile and unnaturally agile within the medium of the Astral Plane; this group's immediate defensive reaction does not promise a more friendly encounter this time.

    "Stand down," Flerentia pleads with an undercurrent of fatigue. "We are only here to finish exploring this citadel."

    The githyanki look to each other with frowns, then the least-armored of the group takes on a psion's typical focusing stance. You hear a chime in your mind, and tense for a moment, but as you feel no particular compulsion to take action and the rest of the group seems to be behaving normally, you ease up just as quickly. You suspect that they simply don't understand Common, and have resorted to reading your minds in order to determine your motives.

    Unfortunately, the fact that they now draw their weapons suggests that they don't approve of said motives and have no intention of simply trying to bridge the language gap to talk you all down. In response, you...


    [] ...draw your twin daggers and trace sigils with them as you chant, first protecting yourself with a quick daggerspell stance spell, then casting an extended version of stinking cloud to cover the stage. The spell of greater false life you already cast on yourself before entering today should serve as a layer of protection should you need to dive into the fray more directly. (You are a Spellthief 1/Witch 5/Daggerspell Mage 10 — a roguish healer and debuffer. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed psion (kineticist), bringing the direct firepower that you do not.)

    [] ...draw your twin daggers and exploit the Astral's magical properties to cast spells on both of them in a hurry — touch of idiocy on one since it's all the more useful in this realm, slay living on the other. The spell of greater false life you already cast on yourself before entering today should serve as a layer of protection once you move in to flank one of your foes. (Still Spellthief 1/Witch 5/Daggerspell Mage 10 , but a different opening move. Oriana is still a psion (kineticist).)

    [] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to accomplish two things: instantly cast storm touch to wreathe your hands in overwhelming electricity, and extend the duration of a spell of greater mirror image to surround yourself with protective illusions well beyond this one fight. (You are an Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9 — an adaptable spellcaster first and martial artist second. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)

    [] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to both cast an extended mass fox's cunning on your warband and instantly cast solid fog to entrap your foes. (Still Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9, but a different opening move. Oriana is still a contemplative.)

    [] ...assume the stance of the Riven Hourglass for your own safety, rush past your allies while drawing your shortsword, and rather than attacking "physically" with it, instead make a quick circular cut in the potential reality in front of you — clockwise from your perspective, counterclockwise to the githyanki. This briefly envelops them in a conical distortion of time, which is sure to slow them for at least a brief moment and may well leave them barely able to move for a few seconds. (You are a Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9 — a master of supplementing your overt spellcasting with more supernatural forms of martial skill. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)

    [] ...assume the stance of the Riven Hourglass for your own safety, then further your allies' safety as well by taking out a bit of phosphorous and gesturing with it as you speak the words for a warm version of mass fire shield, extended via the Astral's magic-friendliness; it's one of the more obvious wards, but it should provoke the githyanki to compensate. (Still Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9, but a different opening move. Oriana is still a contemplative.)

    [] ...take the ranseur from your back, easily avoiding your armor's spikes in the process, and use the Astral's psionic-friendly environment to quickly manifest a pair of simple clairsentient battle enhancements: defensive precognition and offensive prescience, each to the greatest extent you're capable of. Really, it's easy enough to manifest powers here that you suspect someone less skilled would do so by accident. (You are a Warder (zweihander sentinel) 1/Erudite 5/Awakened Blade 10 — an assimilator of psionic knowledge who has invested heavily into defense. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed abjurer, as much a contrast to Xaket as to you.)

    [] ...take the ranseur from your back, easily avoiding your armor's spikes in the process. You shift positions and mentally invoke the esoteric concept of the Internal Dominion of the Sleeping Goddess so that you have a layer of defense even while otherwise occupied, then envision your foes being swarmed by ectoplasmic spiders and entrapped with their "silk" — a vision that becomes a reality in progress thanks to your ectoplasmic swarm power. (Still Warder (zweihander sentinel) 1/Erudite 5/Awakened Blade 10, but a different opening move. Oriana is still an abjurer.)

    -----

    (Now that I've actually gathered enough information to start telling a story, I'm trying to do the last bit of character creation as part of the action. I anticipate another long delay before the next post, in part to flesh out of the build you pick from a sketch to a complete character sheet.)
     
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    • So, are these special prestige classes/variants hidden in the depths of sourcebooks, or homebrew things from the D&D wiki? Because I've never heard of most of these.
     
    Never got to play one irl but I've always enjoyed the Arcanist class. Therefore, I vote thusly...

    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to accomplish two things: instantly cast storm touch to wreathe your hands in overwhelming electricity, and extend the duration of a spell of greater mirror image to surround yourself with protective illusions well beyond this one fight. (You are an Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9 — an adaptable spellcaster first and martial artist second. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)

    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to both cast an extended mass fox's cunning on your warband and instantly cast solid fog to entrap your foes. (Still Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9, but a different opening move. Oriana is still a contemplative.)
     
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  • Informational
    • MrRageQuit said:
    So, are these special prestige classes/variants hidden in the depths of sourcebooks, or homebrew things from the D&D wiki? Because I've never heard of most of these.
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    There is a reason I labeled this "3.P"; I'm pulling things from D&D 3.5, Pathfinder 1e, and to a lesser degree D&D 3.0 freely. I also consider Dreamscarred Press content for PF1 fair game, am using occasional pieces of Dragon Magazine content, and will also use content that existed on WotC's website. In short, I'm using only WotC, Paizo, and Dreamscarred sources; the former two are official, and the latter one is probably the single most respected third-party source out there. I don't intend to go further afield than those sets of sources unless I just make something up from whole cloth, which I don't intend to do often; frankly, this gives me a lot to work with as is.

    It wasn't my intention to force anyone to do homework to understand the options, but if you find the vote options' demonstrations and brief descriptions inadequate (or want to take on the task of making write-in actions involving one of these four builds), I'll put my sources here. Fortunately, PF1 tends to have a lot more of its rules content officially open than 3.5, so I can link the PF1 and Dreamscarred Press stuff legally, just not the 3.5 sourcebook and Dragon Mag stuff. As some of the spell picks for the vote options imply, I am willing to use spells from both 3.5 and PF1 for classes from either edition, as long as they don't violate the overall trends of the existing spell lists.

    For MC build 1, Spellthief is from 3.5's Complete Adventurer, Witch is from PF1's Advanced Player's Guide (class here, spell list here), and Daggerspell Mage is also from Complete Adventurer. The build also uses the potent Master Spellthief feat from 3.5's Complete Scoundrel, basically giving you full Steal Spell progression (though not the other class features) and full Witch caster level (though not the slots of a single-classed Witch).

    For MC build 2, Unchained Monk is from Pathfinder Unchained and is their second attempt at fixing Monk, Arcanist is from PF1's Advanced Class Guide and uses the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list, and Enlightened Fist is from 3.5's Complete Arcane. Also from Complete Arcane is the Practiced Spellcaster feat that helps you only fall behind linearly rather than quadraticly. Note that I'm giving Arcanist fewer Exploits from levels and the equivalent of a d4 Hit Die, however; it's clearly "tier 1" territory, and thus doesn't need the extra help.

    For MC build 3, Swordsage is from 3.5's Tome of Battle: the Book of Nine Swords (what, did you expect me not to use martial initiators at this power level?), Wizard is as seen in 3.5 because as mentioned "tier 1" casters don't need the extra help, and Bladecaster is from Dreamscarred Press's Path of War — its copyright-dodging answer to ToB:Bo9S. Note that I am letting Swordsage take the Riven Hourglass discipline from Dreamscarred's second major book for the subsystem, Path of War Expanded; since Swordsage can already light a fire against the air with the Desert Wind discipline and teleport and throw shadows with the Shadow Hand discipline, I don't see why they shouldn't also be able to cut time with Riven Hourglass. (Basically Swordsage is the class that actually lives up to ToB:Bo9S's reputation of being "too anime" and "just giving fighters magic", so I'm leaning into that here.) This build also uses Practiced Spellcaster.

    For MC build 4, Warder is from Path of War and the Zweihander Sentinel archetype is from the same, Erudite has two different versions but I'm using the take from Dragon Magazine #319 because the version in the back of Complete Psionic got hit too hard with the nerf bat even for my tastes, and Awakened Blade is from Path of War (though Path of War Expanded modifies it to also grant access to the Sleeping Goddess discipline on top of any you already had access to). Erudite uses the same power list as Psion and Wilder; you can see most of Dreamscarred Press's version of the list here, and see most of WotC's version of the list in 3.5's Complete Psionic, though there are scattered books for both with other powers. Note that I do intend to give the Erudite access to talents — 0-level psionic powers — as per Dreamscarred's take on psionics. Much as the previous two builds use Practiced Spellcaster, this one uses Practiced Manifester from Complete Psionic.

    Oriana, the Cyran halfling full arcane caster or psionic manifester of the group, can have one of three builds depending on what you choose as the MC's build. She can either be a Psion (kineticist) as per 3.5's Expanded Psionics Handbook (and the SRD) plus 0-level powers as per Dreamscarred Press's Psionics Unleashed or Ultimate Psionics, a Wilder (contemplative) as per Dreamscarred Press's Ultimate Psionics, or a Wizard (abjurer) as per the 3.5 PHB (and the SRD). You all know and love the wizard/sorcerer list, and here's as much of the psion/wilder list as I can show you; you can find a lot of the rest in 3.5's Complete Psionic.

    As for the rest of the party...

    Flerentia Folbor, the Aundairian gnomish tank, is a Warder 12/Animus Adept 4 (Path of War and Path of War Expanded respectively) — the vanilla version of Warder rather than the variant in the MC's fourth build option. TL;DR version: an uncannily skilled protector of the party who eventually tapped crude magical power to round her protection options out.

    Xaket Ealdwin, the Brelish half-elven divine caster, is a single-classed Shaman 16 (Advanced Class Guide) with the Slums spirit (PF1's Heroes of the Streets) and the Visionary archetype (Advanced Class Guide). The shaman spell list can be found here. "Khoravar" is just an Eberronian term of pride for a half-elf who isn't first-generation, which is the majority of them; mechanically they're the same. TL;DR version: a versatile spellcaster with more focus on debuffs and curses than buffs compared to a cleric.

    Guntram d'Kundarak, the Karrnathi dwarven skillmonkey, is a single-classed Factotum 16 (3.5's Dungeonscape). TL;DR version: well-read, well-skilled, and able to improvise beyond that.

    Sakikhad, the Thrane kalashtar weaponsmaster, is a Marksman (mind's eye disciple) 2/Fighter (weapon master) 14. Kalashtar are of course from 3.5's Eberron Campaign Setting (or alternately 3.5's Races of Eberron). Marksman is a Dreamscarred Press psionic class; it was originally printed in Dreamscarred Press's Psionics Expanded, and was reprinted in the later collection Ultimate Psionics. The Mind's Eye Disciple is from Path of War Expanded. I go with the PF1 version of Fighter because they do need the help; the Weapon Master archetype comes from the Advanced Player's Guide. TL;DR version: an extremely skilled and focused archer who makes up for his lack of extreme dexterity through a mixture of intuition, tapped psionic potential, and esoteric martial stances.

    If you were wondering what took so long, this is what.
     
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  • Informational
    • Oh, I didn't think the P stood for Pathfinder. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense now.

    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to accomplish two things: instantly cast storm touch to wreathe your hands in overwhelming electricity, and extend the duration of a spell of greater mirror image to surround yourself with protective illusions well beyond this one fight. (You are an Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9 — an adaptable spellcaster first and martial artist second. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)
    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to both cast an extended mass fox's cunning on your warband and instantly cast solid fog to entrap your foes. (Still Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9, but a different opening move. Oriana is still a contemplative.)

    As someone who also knows and loves Arcanists and Unchained Monks, I'm for this.
     
    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to accomplish two things: instantly cast storm touch to wreathe your hands in overwhelming electricity, and extend the duration of a spell of greater mirror image to surround yourself with protective illusions well beyond this one fight. (You are an Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9 — an adaptable spellcaster first and martial artist second. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)
     
    [X] ...assume the stance of the Riven Hourglass for your own safety, rush past your allies while drawing your shortsword, and rather than attacking "physically" with it, instead make a quick circular cut in the potential reality in front of you — clockwise from your perspective, counterclockwise to the githyanki. This briefly envelops them in a conical distortion of time, which is sure to slow them for at least a brief moment and may well leave them barely able to move for a few seconds. (You are a Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9 — a master of supplementing your overt spellcasting with more supernatural forms of martial skill. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)
     
    [x] ...assume the stance of the Riven Hourglass for your own safety, rush past your allies while drawing your shortsword, and rather than attacking "physically" with it, instead make a quick circular cut in the potential reality in front of you — clockwise from your perspective, counterclockwise to the githyanki. This briefly envelops them in a conical distortion of time, which is sure to slow them for at least a brief moment and may well leave them barely able to move for a few seconds. (You are a Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9 — a master of supplementing your overt spellcasting with more supernatural forms of martial skill. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)

    Wizard is good.
     
    [x] ...draw your twin daggers and exploit the Astral's magical properties to cast spells on both of them in a hurry — touch of idiocy on one since it's all the more useful in this realm, slay living on the other. The spell of greater false life you already cast on yourself before entering today should serve as a layer of protection once you move in to flank one of your foes. (Still Spellthief 1/Witch 5/Daggerspell Mage 10 , but a different opening move. Oriana is still a psion (kineticist).)
     
    [X] ...assume the stance of the Riven Hourglass for your own safety, rush past your allies while drawing your shortsword, and rather than attacking "physically" with it, instead make a quick circular cut in the potential reality in front of you — clockwise from your perspective, counterclockwise to the githyanki. This briefly envelops them in a conical distortion of time, which is sure to slow them for at least a brief moment and may well leave them barely able to move for a few seconds. (You are a Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9 — a master of supplementing your overt spellcasting with more supernatural forms of martial skill. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)
     
    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to accomplish two things: instantly cast storm touch to wreathe your hands in overwhelming electricity, and extend the duration of a spell of greater mirror image to surround yourself with protective illusions well beyond this one fight. (You are an Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9 — an adaptable spellcaster first and martial artist second. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)

    [X] ...take on what the less informed would call a simple pugilist's stance, but only as a defensive measure. Rather than forming fists right away, you murmur and trace sigils to both cast an extended mass fox's cunning on your warband and instantly cast solid fog to entrap your foes. (Still Unchained Monk 1/Arcanist 6/Enlightened Fist 9, but a different opening move. Oriana is still a contemplative.)
     
    [X] ...take the ranseur from your back, easily avoiding your armor's spikes in the process, and use the Astral's psionic-friendly environment to quickly manifest a pair of simple clairsentient battle enhancements: defensive precognition and offensive prescience, each to the greatest extent you're capable of. Really, it's easy enough to manifest powers here that you suspect someone less skilled would do so by accident.
     
    [X] ...assume the stance of the Riven Hourglass for your own safety, rush past your allies while drawing your shortsword, and rather than attacking "physically" with it, instead make a quick circular cut in the potential reality in front of you — clockwise from your perspective, counterclockwise to the githyanki. This briefly envelops them in a conical distortion of time, which is sure to slow them for at least a brief moment and may well leave them barely able to move for a few seconds. (You are a Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9 — a master of supplementing your overt spellcasting with more supernatural forms of martial skill. Oriana, by contrast, is a single-classed contemplative (extreme variant wilder) — someone who reinvents herself every day rather than accumulating a broad skillset.)

    Time Mage Yes.

    [X] ...take the ranseur from your back, easily avoiding your armor's spikes in the process. You shift positions and mentally invoke the esoteric concept of the Internal Dominion of the Sleeping Goddess so that you have a layer of defense even while otherwise occupied, then envision your foes being swarmed by ectoplasmic spiders and entrapped with their "silk" — a vision that becomes a reality in progress thanks to your ectoplasmic swarm power. (Still Warder (zweihander sentinel) 1/Erudite 5/Awakened Blade 10, but a different opening move. Oriana is still an abjurer.)

    ...but actual psionics is good too.
     
    While superficially we have a tie between Unchained Monk/Arcanist/Enlightened Fist buffing and Swordsage/Wizard/Bladecaster debuffing so far, there's also a basis for breaking the tie. Right now, it appears that three people definitely want to buff, four people definitely want to debuff, and three could go either way. With a two-dimensional vote like this, I figure a tie can be broken with some manual counting of preferences along each dimension to see if it's tied in every way possible or not. ...Truth knows we need some way to break ties in this quest. >_>;
     
    Pteryx said:
    While superficially we have a tie between Unchained Monk/Arcanist/Enlightened Fist buffing and Swordsage/Wizard/Bladecaster debuffing so far, there's also a basis for breaking the tie. Right now, it appears that three people definitely want to buff, four people definitely want to debuff, and three could go either way. With a two-dimensional vote like this, I figure a tie can be broken with some manual counting of preferences along each dimension to see if it's tied in every way possible or not. ...Truth knows we need some way to break ties in this quest. >_>;
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    I would counter-argue that we should focus on the build first, rather than buff-debuffing. It might also help to set ending deadlines on the votes so things don't stretch out so much in waiting. Of course either of the two non-leaders can cast new votes, or you might prefer to jump on whoever next votes to break the tie?
     
    MrRageQuit said:
    I would counter-argue that we should focus on the build first, rather than buff-debuffing. It might also help to set ending deadlines on the votes so things don't stretch out so much in waiting. Of course either of the two non-leaders can cast new votes, or you might prefer to jump on whoever next votes to break the tie?
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    I would focus on the build first, except that excluding people's double-votes for builds, the build is also a tie right now (one for Spellthief/Witch/Daggerspell Mage, four for Unchained Monk/Arcanist/Enlightened Fist, four for Swordsage/Wizard/Bladecaster, two for Warder/Erudite/Awakened Blade — adding up to eleven because one person voted for two different builds using a similar strategy, rather than the same build using two different strategies).

    As for setting deadlines, honestly I'm not clear on how that actually breaks ties instead of risking locking them in. Still, I'll make the clock start ticking because at least the second-choice way of breaking the tie is not tied...
     
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